Shloka 15
अर्जुनस्य इन्द्रकीलगमनम् तथा शक्रसाक्षात्कारः
Arjuna’s journey to Indrakīla and encounter with Indra
नानापुष्पफलोपेतं नानापक्षिनिषेवितम् । नानामृगगणाकीर्ण सिद्धचारणसेवितम्,जो नाना प्रकारके फल-फूलोंसे भरा था, भाँति-भाँतिके पक्षी जहाँ कलरव कर रहे थे, अनेक जातियोंके मृग उस वनमें सब ओर विचरते रहते थे तथा कितने ही सिद्ध और चारण निवास कर रहे थे
nānāpuṣpaphalopetaṃ nānāpakṣiniṣevitam | nānāmṛgagaṇākīrṇaṃ siddhacāraṇasevitam ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: The forest was adorned with many kinds of flowers and fruits. It was frequented by diverse birds whose calls filled it on all sides; it was thronged with herds of many species of deer and other wild creatures roaming everywhere; and it was also inhabited and visited by numerous Siddhas and Cāraṇas. The scene evokes a sacred, life-sustaining wilderness—an ordered harmony of nature and ascetic presence that frames the exiles’ journey and the moral atmosphere of restraint and contemplation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic ideal of harmony: nature’s abundance (flowers and fruits) coexists with non-violent life (birds and animals) and spiritual attainment (Siddhas and Cāraṇas). Such a setting implicitly supports values of restraint, reverence for living beings, and contemplative living.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the forest landscape encountered in the Vana Parva narrative—an abundant, lively, and sanctified woodland populated by animals and visited by exalted beings—establishing the atmosphere for events connected with the protagonists’ life in exile.